Samford 3, Furman 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University volleyball team extended its win streak to three games with a dominant 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) sweep over top ranked Furman University on Friday, Nov. 6, on Senior Night inside the Pete Hanna Center.
The match only consisted of three ties and one lead change that occurred during the third set whenever the Bulldogs (11-11, 6-6 SoCon) rebounded after giving up the initial point 9-2 lead over the Paladins (16-7, 10-3 SoCon).
The mainstay of the match was the defensive presence of the Bulldogs who were led by sophomore libero Morgan St. Germain who tallied 20 digs in the contest, 10 of which were recorded in the first set alone. Samford tallied 26 total digs as team in the 25-18 first set decision.
The Bulldogs offense also outpaced the Paladins as Samford hit .205 in the initial set while the Paladins only managed a .040 clip due in part to 10 attack errors.
Furman responded in the second set of the match and cranked out a .355 attack average but Samford rose to the occasion and bettered the Paladins with a .400 attack percentage. Senior Emily Meitz helped paced the Bulldogs to the 25-22 win as she tallied four kills on five attacks (.800) while junior Erin Bognar ramped up her production with six kills in the set.
The Paladins managed the tie the set twice at 8-8 and 9-9 but the Bulldogs broke away midway through the set to take a 19-13 lead. From there Samford used their best sideout percentage of the match (73%) to secure the two set lead heading into the intermission.
Over the past two matches the Bulldogs have come out of the lockerroom a little off balance and allowed both Wofford and Chattanooga to take a set but tonight Samford emerged focused and prepared as the broke out a seven point lead to start out the set. Samford closed out the match and completed the sweep with a 24-20 decision.
St. Germain led Samford defensively but her production was supplemented by redshirt freshman Kate Neisler's 14 digs and junior Mattie Newson's eight digs in the match.
Offensively Bognar put down 12 kills while Meitz ripped off 10 kills (.364). Neisler was just shy of a double-double with nine kills.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday, Nov. 7, when they face off The Citadel inside the Pete Hanna Center. The action can be caught via the SoCon Digital Network.
UNCG 3, Mercer 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG volleyball team ran its winning streak to 10-straight matches Friday night as the Spartans posted a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 30-28, 25-19) of visiting Mercer at Fleming Gymnasium. The victory also improved the Spartans to 20-8 on the season, marking their second-straight 20-win season – the first time UNCG has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2006-07.
The victory coupled with Furman’s 3-0 loss at Samford Friday night moved the Spartans into a three-way tie atop the Southern Conference standings with a 10-3 record along with Furman and Chattanooga. Additionally, the victory kept the Spartans undefeated at home this year with a 10-0 record heading into their final home game of the year Saturday night when they host ETSU at 5 p.m. Prior to that match, UNCG will recognize its senior class in Lauren Betlach, Julia Westerbur and Katherine Santiago with a pregame ceremony.
The two teams came out in set one and battled back-and-forth trading points for most of the set. UNCG took a 21-19 lead as Alexis Mourier and Westerbur tallied consecutive kills. Mercer came back and tied the set at 22-22 with a 3-1 run before UNCG closed the set out with a 3-1 spurt of its own. Junior outside hitter Jessica Brezwyn and Westerbur posted kills down the stretch to lead the Spartans to a 25-23 set one victory. Brezwyn led the way in set one with four kills while Mourier added three kills.
The Bears kept coming though as they took a 21-18 lead in set two on an Emily Krogman kill. The Spartans came back again and scored four straight points as redshirt freshman Jasmine Jones started to heat up, posting consecutive kills to get the Fleming crowd going Friday night. Mercer answered back and had two set-points, but each time UNCG was able to weather the storm as Brezwyn posted a kill and the Bears were called for a ball-handling-error.
The Spartans had their own chances to close out set two, getting four set-point attempts before finally closing it out at 30-28 as Muench powered down a kill. She finished the second set with six kills while Jones added three kills in five attempts for the Spartans.
UNCG closed out the victory with its easiest set of the night, posting a 25-19 victory. The Spartans held Mercer to just .064 hitting in the third set, recording five blocks to secure the victory. The set was tied at 19-19 before UNCG scored six straight to seal the win, capping the night in fitting fashion with back-to-back blocks by the Spartans.
Chattanooga 3, The Citadel 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs volleyball team beat The Citadel 3-1 on Senior Night with a big crowd in Maclellan Gym Friday. Seniors Julimar Alvarado, Sarah Batterton, Catherine Chason, Lauren Gainer and Briana Reid were honored before the match.
Extending its home winning streak to 12, UTC improves to 21-5 and 10-3 in Southern Conference action. The squad is tied with Furman and UNCG for first in the SoCon standings. Chattanooga hasn't reached over 20 wins in a season since 1999.
UTC dropped the first 25-23. Despite being down a set and 23-21, the Mocs battled back to win four straight points to clinch the second. UTC dominated the final two sets, winning the third 25-16 and Alvarado capping off the fourth with a kill at 25-14.
Seniors Batterton and Reid and junior Kristy Wieser tied for 14 kills.
This match was Reid's eighth double-double of the season, adding 10 digs. Sophomore Lauren Greenspoon posted her seventh double-double with 55 assists and 12 digs.
Gainer totaled seven blocks, five assists and two solos. Freshman Miranda Elpers tallied 19 digs, while Chason recorded 17, in addition to two service aces.
Saturday is the last home match in Maclellan Gym of the 2015-16 season. The Mocs face Furman at 6 p.m. in a battle for first place.